During the operation for the removal of a cataract, it is common practice to remove the natural lens of the eye. In years past, because of the absence of the lens, it has been necessary to provide the patient with special eye glasses to at least partially restore his sight. These eye glasses, however, are only capable of restoring a portion of the sight and they are not entirely effective, because they present a very large magnification of the image and because they suffer from a peripheral distortion of sight. Magnification makes "binocular" vision difficult if the other eye is healthy, and the narrow angle of sight results in the so-called "tunnel vision," i.e., loss of side vision.
Besides these difficulties with cataract lenses, it has always been the desire of the medical profession to be able to replace the natural lens wih an artificial lens. Until recently the materials that were available for such lenses (such as glass) have not been compatible with the interior of the eye. In World War II, it was noted however, that, when pilots in an accident received particles of the plastic used in the aircraft windows into the interior of the eye, the particles remained there in suspension without interfering with the operation of the eye or resulting in discomfort to the pilot. As early as 1947, therefore, attempts were made to use this plastic (polymethyl methacrylate) in artificial lenses to be inserted in the eye. Although the earlier attempts were less than successful, nevertheless, as the years went by and techniques for attaching the lens were developed, the rate of success has become fairly high. Although many different designs of artificial lens have been produced, the general approach is to use wire clips or sutures on the sides of the lens which clip through the iris to hold the lens in place. Because the iris must expand and contract and because the inner edge of the iris is often frayed and less than perfect in its construction, these lenses have in many cases fallen out. Their replacement, although an office procedure, is, nevertheless, an undesirable feature of the construction. Attempts have been made to suture the clips to the iris to prevent slippage, but the movement of the iris as it expands and contracts, has a tendency to tear the sutures out. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.
It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide an artificial lens having a high probability of success in retention.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a lens implant which is securely located adjacent the iris and, yet, which does not require a perfectly intact iris and does not inhibit the iris movement or cause it damage.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a lens implant which can be readily applied by a surgeon of moderate skill.
It is another object of the instant invention to provide a method of applying a lens implant which method has a high probability of success.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of a surgical procedure for implanting an artificial lens, which procedure is simple in execution and reliable in result.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a lens implant support mechanism which permits the anchorage of the implant to be more physiologically suitable and allows the placement of the implant in the posterior chamber.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a lens implant system which gives reliable, predictable anchorage, irrespective of variations in the nature of the iris from one patient to another; it is particularly useful where the iris is not intact and has operative ability irrespective of whether sufficient iridocapsular adhesions form to support the loops of the implant.
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.